Monday, March 24, 2008

Birthdays are better than Easter.

So, we didn't exactly pick the best weekend to travel to Chicago, weather-wise. But I can't help when my birthday is. Still, the snow on Friday was pretty unfortunate.

So Friday was not exactly the day for outdoor sightseeing, which was too bad because Chicago has a double-decker bus tour and I love those. Still, we had fun shopping, and then we met up with two fabulous Chicago bloggers, Nilsa and pseudostoops, to watch the UNC game in a sports bar. We had an absolutely fantastic time, and both of those women are amazing people and now, amazing friends. I had never met anyone from blogland before, and I was really impressed at how well and how easily we got along. And also, they gave me the sweetest birthday present of a Dominican Republic travel guide, along with a map and magazine about Chicago to help us plan our weekend. All wrapped in purple paper, of course. Because they are fabulous and also very thoughtful. I'm only jealous that the two of them live near each other and get to hang out whenever they want.

The weather cleared up on Saturday, though it was not exactly balmy, so Torsten and I walked all over town, starting by taking the El up to a little shopping neighborhood near Lincoln Park. The sun was an incredibly welcome feeling. But we couldn't believe that the ticket machines only took cash and did not give change.

We walked down by the lake, which Torsten had never seen before, and it was very pretty, despite all the snow on the beaches and the incredible, slippery slush on all the walking paths. I love cities that are really on the water, and no, the Potomac doesn't make DC count. Walking along the lake made me really wish, even more than usual, that we had a dog.

We also tried to take the Ferris wheel on the Navy Pier, but for some inconceivable reason, it wasn't operating. Something to do with the open cars and ridiculous wind, perhaps? Hard to tell, but at least it was photogenic.

We capped off the trip with the obligatory trip up the tall building at night. It was no Empire State Building, but it was still very pretty. Although the view of the Navy Pier was another bitter reminder of the Ferris Wheel Ride That Wasn't. Oh, well. I'll just have to hold out for London's Millennium Wheel next month.

You can see the rest of the photos (pretty much all taken by Torsten) here.

Yeah for your trip to Chicago! It was such fun meeting you - and thank you for putting up with my, ummm, friends. C'mon, we'd been at the bar since 2!!! :-) Sorry the weather wasn't perfect, but clearly provided many good stories from your weekend. Now, I want your recap on food - you were hitting some local favorites!

I, too, thought of you on Friday as I watching the unbelievable snow billow down outside the house that I did not leave that entire day.... it was horrendous. And, since I'm just over the WI/IL border along Lake Michigan (on the WI side) I was not too far from you AND the farther north you go, the worse the snow - AND they're calling for at least another 6 inches of the crap tomorrow. SOOOOO TIRED OF SNOW you have no idea. We've been pounded all winter. Not to mention the horrific flooding all this snow then melting then snow then melting is causing.

Wow, I definitely am not a good candidate for the Illinois or Wisconsin tourism department am I?